A FATHER of four from Weybridge who disappeared from a mental health unit before his body was found six months later had suffered from depression caused by stress and personal problems, an inquest heard on Tuesday.

Doctors treating Kevin Patterson in the Abraham Cowley Unit (ACU) at St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey, said he suffered from anxiety and paranoia which were likely to have been the result of his heavy workload as a tax accountant.

The 39-year-old went missing in July 2008 but his body was not found until January 2009.

Surrey coroner Michael Burgess recorded an open verdict at the inquest, after noting that pathologists reported that the cause of death was “unascertainable”.

Mr Patterson had been a voluntary patient after problems in his personal life led to a breakdown.

This meant that although he slept at the hospital unit, he was free to leave whenever he wanted.

The coroner accused the body which runs the ACU, Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, of having a “totally unsatisfactory” system of recording when patients come and go.

The inquest heard that Mr Patterson had twice attempted to overdose on paracetamol, although consultant psychiatrist Dr Daryoush Malekniazi suggested he may have invented the second incident in an attempt to communicate with staff.

The doctor explained that even though Mr Patterson had shown signs of wanting to end his life, they could not section him under the Mental Health Act.

“Just because sometimes they have taken an overdose, does not mean we can section them," he told the inquest.

“Sectioning a patient requires reasons and they have to fulfil the criteria, such as if a patient refuses treatment, doesn’t want to stay in hospital and his symptoms are not manageable.

“For him at that stage, just ticking boxes, he wasn’t meeting that criteria,” the doctor said.

Mr Patterson was therefore free to keep in touch with his friends and family and could leave the unit when he liked.

Noose

The inquest heard he had visited his wife Claire and their children at the family home in Devonshire Road for a Sunday lunch on July 6, and then saw his mother, Susan, the next day.

Susan Patterson told the inquest: “He seemed fine. He seemed chatty, more than ever, [the] best he had been for a long time.”

The following day, at 9am on July 8, 2008, Mr Patterson walked out of the unit and was not seen until his body was discovered by a police dog unit six months later.

Community psychiatric nurse Mohamed Damruu said Mr Patterson had been his “pleasant normal self” in the morning and had given no indication of being in an agitated state.

Although a member of staff had recorded seeing Mr Patterson in the unit at about 8.20pm on July 8, Mr Burgess said he believed the notes were wrong.

CCTV showed he had left at 9am and there was no footage of him after that.

When he had not returned to the unit by 11pm on July 8, police and family members were called.

Officers searched the area but were unable to locate Mr Patterson.

It was not until six months later, when the Surrey Police missing persons unit extended its search to a larger area, that his body was recovered.

The remains were found in a heavily wooded area about half a mile from the hospital, in Lyne Lane.

Mr Patterson's body was found underneath a tree where a noose had been hanging, the inquest heard.

However, it was so badly decomposed that Mr Burgess said it was impossible to say whether he had hanged himself, taken an overdose, fallen off the tree, or died from exposure or another factor.

Recording an open verdict, the coroner said: “I think the recordings kept by the unit at the time, however satisfactory they may be for medical purposes, are totally unsatisfactory for making some meaningful determination about when someone comes and goes.

“It’s been suggested by Mrs Patterson, Kevin’s mother, [that] had there been a fire, and [for] the record-taking to have been like this, they would not have known who was in the ward and who was not.”

In a statement, the trust said: "The Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust offers its sincere condolences to Mr Patterson’s family at this difficult time.

"The trust acknowledges the gravity of the coroner’s comments and improving the quality of the care we provide is the key priority for the trust board. The trust has made significant changes its risk assessment processes and has improved the quality of care planning records for individual clients during the past year. A monthly audit to review record keeping and improve standards has also been introduced across all services.

"Specific changes to practice on inpatient wards have been made as a result of the Trust’s internal inquiry into Mr Patterson’s care including screening clients to establish their mental state before they are able to leave a ward."